Category Archives: Uncategorized

Church Finances and Business: Should My Church Incorporate? (Federal law)

Tax exempt status Another reason to incorporate is to obtain 501(c)(3) status. Now, this is a body of law that many misunderstand, and so I’m going to start with basics. 1. All income is subject to the federal income tax … Continue reading

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Baptism, An Exploration: 1 Corinthians 6 & 12

1 Cor 6:11 The next passage in 1 Corinthians we should consider is not necessarily a baptism passage — (1Co 6:11 ESV)  11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in … Continue reading

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Baptism, An Exploration: 1 Corinthians 1

1 Corinthians has more references to Christian baptism than any other New Testament book. We find there — (1Co 1:12-18 ESV) 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or … Continue reading

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Baptism, an Exploration: Romans, with a little 1 Corinthians 10 thrown in

We now turn to the Pauline epistles to see what Paul has to say about baptism. I count 12 verses containing an explicit reference to baptism, eight of which are in 1 Corinthians. The other four are in Romans, Galatians, … Continue reading

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Baptism, An Exploration: Salvation in John’s Gospel (The After Post, Part 4)

According to John’s Gospel, how is someone saved? (John 1:12-13) Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human … Continue reading

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Baptism, An Exploration: Nicodemus, Part 2 (The After Post, Part 3)

A hendiadys? Now, Morris’s idea that “water and Spirit” means something like “spiritual seed” is more possible that it appears at first glance. He is arguing for a figure of speech known as a hendiadys — where two adjectives or … Continue reading

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Baptism, An Exploration: Nicodemus, Part 1 (The After Post, Part 2)

Nicodemus Born or begotten? We considered Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in the “before” post. But we need to consider Nicodemus further. He’d never read a Gospel or Romans. The only baptism he knew was John the Baptist’s, if he knew … Continue reading

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Baptism, An Exploration: The Samaritan Woman at the Well (The After Post, Part 1)

We don’t usually think of this as a baptism passage. And maybe it’s not. But there are good reasons to think that baptism is at least in the background. (John 4:7-15 ESV) 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw … Continue reading

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The Holy Spirit: Does God Do Miracles Today?

Guy asked, Where are the miraculous gifts? If all the passages you’re mentioning are meant to include us–21st century disciples–where are the miraculous manifestations? Where are the tongues, the healings, the interpretations, the prophecies, the visible floating fires, etc.? If … Continue reading

Posted in Holy Spirit and Providence, Uncategorized | 27 Comments

Baptism, an Exploration: Part 9 (Baptism in John’s Gospel) (The Before Post)

[This is taken from Born of Water, my book on baptism. It’s edited, but not greatly changed. But after I loaded this into the blogging software, I re-thought my position. And so I thought it might be helpful to post … Continue reading

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